Chapter 119: Fury Strikes Mount Mao

“Weiyang!”
Seeing her, my heart surged with emotion.
She turned back, smiling radiantly, a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.
She smiled but said nothing, and I, spellbound, gazed at her. Yet the red robe she wore transformed into blazing flames that engulfed her entirely.
I was frantic, desperate to extinguish the fire, but it could not be doused. Amid the flames, Weiyang still wore a gentle smile.
A gust of wind swept through.
The flames dispersed, and she vanished with the breeze.
“Weiyang, don’t go!” I called out hoarsely, but my voice could not halt what was happening.
From the wind came a song:
“Wings spread wide, soaring high, unmoved by my sorrowful thoughts...”
In the distant phoenix tree forest, shrouded in ethereal mist, a sharp phoenix cry rang out. Following the call, a vibrant flock of multicolored birds startled and took flight across the sky. Then, a fiery red phoenix rose majestically from the woodland.
“Wings spread wide, soaring high, unmoved by my sorrowful thoughts...”
Within the forest, the song persisted, yet Weiyang was nowhere to be seen.
“Weiyang!”
Awakening abruptly from my call, I sat up drenched in sweat.
But I was no longer in that phoenix tree forest; this place was Shanhaiguan, and what I had just experienced seemed but a dream.
Flower Mugun sat at the bedside, frowning as she stared at me. “Lin Yi, your defense of Shanhaiguan was invaluable. I respect you as a hero. But you, you have no conscience!”
Still lost in sorrow, I didn’t hear her words.
She was about to continue when Huayu Yan entered, saying firmly, “Mugun, stop it.”
“Palace Master, you...”
She trailed off, storming out in anger.
The shattered fragments of Weiyang’s red silk still lay in my hand. How I wished what had just happened was only a dream. If I were still dreaming, sitting beside me would be Weiyang herself. At least then, I could return to that phoenix tree forest and seek everything about her.
“Lin Yi, are you feeling better?” Huayu Yan asked.
I snapped back to reality and nodded faintly.
She held out a box. When I asked what it was, she said, “I went to the place where Sister Weiyang left. Unfortunately, I only found this.”
I opened the box.

Inside were a pair of vermilion hairpins, blackened and warped from fire. Clutching them tightly, memories flooded back.
When I came to my senses, tears had already fallen onto the hairpins.
“Thank you for helping me retrieve this,” I said, carefully putting them away. Huayu Yan, too, had tears in her eyes.
At that moment, Flower Mugun, who had lingered at the door, finally burst in. “Lin Yi, when you returned to the city walls near death, the Palace Master used her own vitality to heal you...”
“Mugun, stop it. I did it willingly. No one forced me,” Huayu Yan interrupted.
“No, I have to say it! Palace Master, for your sake, sacrificed half her life force to heal you. Without her, you would be dead...”
Despite Huayu Yan’s attempts to stop her, Mugun revealed the truth. I knew well what it meant to use one’s own life essence to heal another, and how great the toll was.
Looking at Huayu Yan, I was lost for words.
I owed her so much that even my life wouldn’t suffice to repay.
Huayu Yan drove Mugun out and closed the door firmly.
“Lin Yi, don’t mind her. I didn’t do that for you to worry. I...”
“Miss Yan, when I used the Deathly Sword, I indeed exhausted all my true energy and life force. If you hadn’t saved me that way, I would be dead now.” I paused, meeting her gaze. “Lin Yi owes you more than I can say. I don’t know how to repay you...”
“I don’t want repayment. I saved you to protect Shanhaiguan. Mugun doesn’t understand, so don’t listen to her nonsense,” Huayu Yan said.
I didn’t know what to say. My heart was in turmoil; Weiyang’s departure had shattered me, leaving me as if soulless.
“Actually, there’s something I shouldn’t have kept from you,” Huayu Yan added.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Do you know about the Six-Domain Worm?”
I nodded. The old mountain spirit had spoken of it.
“Weiyang never wanted me to tell you for fear of worrying you. When that gray old woman caused trouble, Weiyang was poisoned by the Six-Domain Worm curse trying to save you. She tried to break the curse, but the world’s most potent venom is incurable. Before the wild immortal’s attack yesterday, she told me she had no more than a day to live,” Huayu Yan explained.
“So the things she told me that day in private... was about this?” I inquired.
Huayu Yan hesitated, sighed, and said, “Yes, that’s what she meant. I wanted to help her, but even the miraculous methods of Lingying Palace couldn’t break the curse.”
“Did she say anything else?” I pressed.
Huayu Yan shook her head but seemed reluctant.
Stepping outside, I looked far across the desolate land—scorched earth and ruins as far as the eye could see beyond the pass.
The Flower Maiden had left Shanhaiguan early.
She said she would return to the Hidden Forest to continue cultivating the other shore flowers. She did not believe her master had truly abandoned her; she trusted that when the other shore flowers bloomed again, her master would return.

After the Flower Maiden left, Ying Gou came with his corpses to Shanhaiguan. On the journey, he faced relentless pursuit and blockade by the major Daoist sects, losing over a thousand of his undead troops. Crossing the Central Plains with Daoist forces chasing them, reaching this place was no small feat, but now, everything here was over.
Learning of Weiyang’s death, Ying Gou knelt. “Master, I arrived too late to protect you. Please punish me!”
I told him to rise; this was not his fault.
I had already conceived a plan and shared it with Huayu Yan.
Now that Ying Gou had arrived, I told him that Baiqiao Town beneath the white waters was no longer a suitable refuge. The dragon vein of Mount Changbai was utterly depleted, becoming a dead land, rife with death energy that living beings could not endure. However, it was the perfect habitat for the corpse clan.
Thus, I intended for Ying Gou to lead the corpses to Mount Changbai.
This would benefit the corpse clan and allow us to monitor any lingering wild immortals. Should they attack, Ying Gou could command his undead army to eliminate them, securing Shanhaiguan forever.
This was excellent news for the corpse clan.
Under Ying Gou’s leadership, they could transform the dead land of Mount Changbai into their ancestral home, no longer homeless.
Of course, my private motives played a part. I had unfinished business: the Qingping Sword of Shanhaiguan—I needed to take it with me.
Flower Mugun and Huayu Yan both said the sword was destined to be mine; even without my plans, it should follow me.
This time, I had two people to kill.
Ma Zhenlei—the man who murdered my mother—now was the time for vengeance. Furthermore, he conspired with Luo Jinhong, the Southern Gu King, to kill the protector Luo Shen and block my undead army from aiding Shanhaiguan. He must not be allowed to live.
Luo Jinhong, the Southern Gu King, was deeply involved in Weiyang’s death. Unless he was eliminated, his poisonous gu arts would claim more lives. He was also the mastermind behind the death of protector Luo Shen.
Everyone urged me to rest longer at Shanhaiguan, but I could not wait. Until Ma Zhenlei was dead, my heart would not find peace.
I left with the Qingping Sword, while Bai Xiangu returned to Baiqiao Town.
The old mountain spirit remained at Shanhaiguan, guarding alongside Hu Mugun. With the Mountain Spirit’s Order in his possession, placed upon the sword stand, he would fortify the pass.
Huayu Yan accompanied me to Mount Mao.
That was her only request—to follow me. I could not refuse; I owed her too much.
However, upon arrival at Mount Mao, several hundred Daoist sect members gathered at the mountain gate, blocking my ascent.
They were no match for me, and I did not want to slaughter innocents. Looking at them, I asked, “Sirs, where were you during the recent crisis at Shanhaiguan?”
“Yes, when protector Luo Shen of Shanhaiguan sent word for aid, not a single one of your Central Plains Daoist sects came. What does that mean?” Huayu Yan asked angrily.
Their silence was deafening.
But soon, someone sneered, “What crisis at Shanhaiguan? To me, it looks like a trap set by your ghost path and Lingying Palace. If we’d gone, we’d have been slaughtered by your evil cults. Your schemes won’t fool us!”
“Exactly. They say wild immortals attacked Shanhaiguan, but if something really happened, would you still be here looking for trouble at Mount Mao?” another Daoist retorted.